Bittersweet
by vampire princess33
Summary: 'I love you.' She almost sounded like the old days, before she had known the horrors of the arena first hand, and Finnick said in the same calm voice 'I love you.', knowing that he could never make Annie understand the exact extent of his feelings for her. A Finnick x Annie story.


**A/N: Annie and Finnick is my favourite pairing in Hunger Games. Really, what is their shipname? Finnie? Annick?**

**Anyway, I figured they deserve a fanfiction where they are together and I wanted to show how Finnick sees Annie and how much he loves her even when she is confused or crazy.**

**I guess this is set before Finnick leaves to be a mentor at the 74th annual Hunger Games.**

**Please, take the time to review. It will only take a few seconds and they always make my day.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hunger Games, Suzane Collins does.**

**Bittersweet**

''What is wrong, Finnick?'', Annie whispered against his chest, and Finnick squeezed her tighter into his arms.

For a crazy girl, Annie was exceptionally perspective, sometimes.

''Everything is alright, I was just thinking about the Games.'', Finnick answered in a low voice, as if he was afraid that he would disturb the peaceful quite of the night that enfolded them if he spoke too loudly, but when he felt Annie gasp as she processed what he had said, he instantly regretted telling her.

He should have known how much it would agitate and upset Annie any reference to the Hunger Games, and as she broke free from his embrace and started to frantically look around her as if there were things hiding in the darkness only she could see, Finnick silently cursed himself for being so careless around her.

Once, he had vowed to himself that he would protect Annie from the scars the Games left her, that he would keep the bad memories away and love her no matter how confused and disoriented she was or how crazy she might look at times.

How could he be so stupid?

Feeling remorse washing over him and a wave of affection towards Annie, Finnick crawled towards her on the bed.

She had shifted away from him on the bed and now she looked like a small ball as she shivered violently, letting out a few breathless, hurt whoops.

Annie didn't resist when Finnick came and drew her back into his embrace, this time holding her soflty yet firmly as he spoke in a gentle voice, hoping he sounded reassuring.

''I'm sorry I upset you, Annie. Can you forgive me?''

Annie seemd confused at first, but then a choked sound like a half sob came from her mouth and she threw herself on Finnick, making both of them fall backwards on the bed and clutching on to him almost desperately.

Finnick felt a warmth spreading inside him. He patted Annie on the back as if he was trying to soothe a baby, and when she had calmed down enough, Finnick broke the hug without letting go of her and pushed her a few inches away so she could look into her eyes.

''Do you want to go out?'', Finnick asked, and Annie nodded, her suddenly beaming, content expression making it clear that she would go everywhere Finnck wanted.

''Let's go then.'', Finnick murmured, taking her hand and leading her out of the room.

Finnick's house in the Victors' Village was dark and there was not a single sound since he lived alone there, something that Finnick would always find unnerving. They slept in one of the many guest rooms because both he and Annie seemed to prefer it that the cavernous, luxurious main bedroom.

They descended the stairs without talking. The night was peaceful and a light breeze was blowing. Finnick inhaled deeply and was immediately greeted by the familiar saltness coming from the sea of Distinct 4.

He and Annie walked down the rocky cliff where the Victors' Village was perched on top, and there was a comforting silence between them that Finnick wouldn't trade for anything in the world as he wrapped one arm around Annie's shoulders on every sign of distress she showed.

Annie would sometimes be frightened by things that weren't there, by images that were real only to her. She laughed in random parts of a conversation, and sometimes she would have those frenzied fits where she would scream and fight against the monsters of a past arena that still haunted her after fmore than four years.

Finnick loved every part of her, of his poor, mad Annie, he watched out for each of her reactions and he seemed to be the only one who could calm her down and make her come back to reality from the places she would sometimes sink into.

There was no doubt that he loved her, something as trivial and beyond Annie's power as this confusion she showed would never make Finnick care less of her, just love her even more.

However, at times like this, Finnick found himself comparing this Annie that was so dependent on him and would almost be sick and even more crazy when he had, to leave to the old Annie he knew, the one prior to the Games.

The Annie of five years ago was his best friend, the only family Finnick had except of Maggs, and later his lover. She always laughed and made the difficulties they faced seem lighter with a joke. She kissed Finnick and before she could stretch on the tips of her toes to reach him he hugged her and swirled her around and then she refused to kiss him again until he said 'please' several times.

Finnick had honestly thought that things would be good for them after he returned from the Hunger Games as a victor. They had been so happy when he confessed his love for her, the girl from his home he always thought about while he was in the arena.

Then the Reaping came and Annie's name was announced. At that very moment, when Annie's desperate gaze searched for him in the crowed while she slowly walked on the stage, looking like a cornered wild animal while to everyone else she seemed as if she was caught in a stupor, Finnick had wanted to turn on his heels and start running until he was alone so no one would see him cry.

Instead, he saved his tears for later and bid his goodbye to his beloved Annie, saying that they would meet again.

And they did. Annie won, but ever since she came back from the Games, she was not the same person as before. Capitol had taken away from her even this: her sanity and her happy personality Finnick loved so much.

Back then, Annie had been like a wild, wounded animal. At first she would become frantic and even more demented when Finnick was around, as if he didn't recognise him anymore or she was afraid that he would hurt her, but soon he started to regain her trust.

Finnick was the one who could appease her and keep her on the ground, Finnick was the one to love her without asking anything in return even when she wasn't quite herself yet.

Unconsciously, Finnick pressed Annie closer to his body as they walked, and she let out a content sigh when he burried his face into her tangled hair.

They stopped walking when they reached a quite beach and sat on a fallen tree trunk that had turned white from the waves that licked it.

Annie turned her face to look at the sea that was almost indistinguishable from the black sky, and her eyes seemed unfocused and dull for a moment. Finnick couldn't help wondering in what place of her own world his troubled Annie had immersed.

''Don't leave tomorrow.'', Annie said in a broken whisper, and Finnick wished he could do as she asked him, wished he could stay forever with her.

''I can't, Annie. You know that. I have to go to Capitol, but I promise that I will return before you even start missing me.'', Finnick tried to joke, but Annie's feeble voice cut him.

''Don't leave me.'' Finnick titled up her chin with a gentle hand and saw that her face was stained with tears.

He bent and kissed away each tear, tasting the saltness before he kissed Annie on the lips in a bittersweet mixture of pain, love and tears.

For a moment Finnick wondered if Annie knew about his countless of lovers in Capitol, the ones President Snow forced upon him in every annual visit in Capitol as he did to all the victors he had prostituted.

Finnick kept them company only to keep Annie safe, but he didn't know if Annie could understand that.

He broke the kiss and hugged her tightly, sinking his face in the nape of her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. ''I'm sorry.'', Finnick whispered, not sure if Annie could hear him.

They stayed like this for a long time, and then they just gazed at the tranquil and still, dark surface of the sea without letting go of each other.

Finnick wished he could freeze time and stay forever in this moment. Then, Annie said something that made his heart beat faster in his chest in an exhilarating feeling Finnick had nothing to compare it with.

''I love you.'' She almost sounded like the old days, before she had known the horrors of the arena first hand, when her eyes would take a sly glint before he kissed him, and Finnick said in the same calm voice ''I love you.'', knowing that he could never make Annie understand the exact extent of his feelings for her that now overflowed from his heart in a wave of tenderness and blissfulness.

When the black sky gradually became a little brighter in the distance, Finnick cuped Annie's face into his hands and told her like he had done before she went to the Games ''I'm not saying goodbye, because I will see you soon. Just take care, alright?''

Annie swallowed a new wave of tears for this bittersweet goodbye, and instead she made an effort to smile at Finnick.

He hugged her for one last time and kissed her on the forehead as if she was a child before Finnick left, looking behind him at Annie's form still sitting alone on the trunk as he did.


End file.
